Ag companies wait while rain keeps falling

UPDATE 1/23/2016 5:20 PM:

Recent rains is setting back agriculture production for some local growers. Some say they may not be able to plant their crops on schedule and any major delays could mean some of your favorite produce may not be readily available later this year.

The owner of JSM Organics in Royal Oaks is watching some of his sales wilt away. Not only has the rainy weather affected Javier Zamora’s flowers, but also his revenue.

“You can actually see some of my godetia are flowering right now,” Zamora said, “but they’re so soft. It’s actually called ‘paper flowers’. It’s not marketable anymore.”

And he’s having to push back production on some of his crops.

“We usually depend for a little bit of our early revenue with the second year strawberry plant,” Zamora said. “This year, because we didn’t get to it, because there was a lot of rain, it’s actually going to be later. The production will come in later.”

It’s an issue that other farmers could be facing because of this wet winter.

“We have seen some fields up in the Pajaro Valley area that have some standing water and look like they have been underwater for a few days now,” said Norm Groot with the Monterey County Farm Bureau. “We haven’t really heard of a lot in the Salinas Valley. I think we’ve been pretty good and lucky in the fact that the river has been dry for such a long period of time that it’s able to manage a lot of that water by percolating down into the groundwater basin and then also keeping it within the confines of the river channels.”

Groot said mud can prevent ag workers and their machinery from going into the fields. Standing water can not only drown plants but affect food safety. E.coli and other bacteria can develop in water after sitting for long periods of time, which is why it is recommended to test for these things.

However, he said it’s too early to tell if the wet weather will have an overall impact for the upcoming season.

“The economic impact will probably come when we see whether the planting schedules go ahead in earnest, in February or March, like we’re all used to here,” Groot said. “At that point in time, we’ll see how that impacts the fields. Prior to that, there’s probably some field preparation work that needs to be done and if they can’t get in and do that, that will probably be a good indication of whether the planting schedule stays on schedule or not, so.”

But Zamora is already expecting to start his planting three weeks later than usual. In the meantime, the rain is growing on him.

“It’s a blessing, so let’s just see the positive side, not worry so much about the economic losses are,” Zamora said.

ORIGINAL POST:

Recent storms are making harvesting and planting difficult for Central Coast agriculture companies. Heavy rain has flooded many fields, turning soil to mud, and making it impossible to use tractors and other farm machinery.

While many Salinas Valley lettuce companies are still harvesting in Yuma, Arizona, January usually signals the start of the local growing season. Any significant delay in planting could result in gaps in production and an eventual shortage in stores.

At the same time, the harvest of other local crops has also been pushed to the sidelines during January’s series of storms.

KION reporter Mariana Hicks is speaking today with growers and county agriculture officials about the situation. Tonight, she will show us what farmers are facing now, and what consumers may face in the months ahead.